Big Shackleton fan here. Read most every book about early Antarctic exploration. These men were incredible risk takers with goals of exploration and polar conquest. Shackleton’s Endurance expedition is THE ultimate survival story. Apollo 13 can’t even compare. They had hundreds of people helping get them back to Earth while Shackleton had to keep his men alive for nearly 18 months after his ship sank, take an open boat journey across the roughest seas in the world, find a “needle in the haystack” of an island, then cross mountainous unexplored terrain with no climbing equipment, sleepless for 36 hours to get help to go back and get the rest of his men - which took four separate tries by the way. Unbelievable courage, fortitude, and devotion. Not one of his men perished. This story should be standard teaching in every school about the greatness of man and what he can accomplish.
Excellent synopsis of a truly mind-boggling feat of superhuman endurance.
I think my body temperature has dropped 5° just thinking about it for a couple minutes .. brrrrrrrrrrrr !
I’ve read the Alfred Lansing book, “Endurance”, and until its publication in 1959 Shackleton was largely forgotten. That book led to his deserved revival. I regard it as one of the two best books ever published on antarctic exploration, the other being “The Last Place on Earth” by Roland Huntford. It was PBS series of the same name that got me hooked on antarctic polar exploration 35 years ago.
I cannot agree more that this should be taught in schools.
I read “Endurance” to my kids. I made it required “listening” exactly for their education. Parents can still retain control of their kids’ education & not punt to strangers who may—or may not—have your kids’ best interest at heart.
Do you know if the stranded crew ate penguins to survive?